The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1887-06-30
SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.

-Daytona, Fla, ships on an average
of $50 boxes of oranges day 10 North
ern markets.
Over $50 natural gas and oil CON-
panies have been organized in the State
of Ohio during the past sixteen months.
"A new absorbent preparation Is
made from the cocoanut fiber. 1t is
called cofferdam. and will hold like a
sponge from twelve to fourteen times
its own weight of water.-Springfeld
Times.
At the close of 1886 the American
Association of Science, according to
the report of the permanent secretary,
had 1886 members. OF these, 631, be-
ing specially engaged in scientific work.
have been elected to the rank of fell
lows.
M. Lacombe, . Frenchman, has
succeeded in taking long-distance
photographs by fixing a telescope in
front of the objective of the camera.
The apparatus promises usefulness &c
tourists and other amateurs.
q the impression made spon the retina
by different degrees of light, concludes
that both white and black are colors,
and both should have a proper place
upon the chromatic scale.-Frank Les.
les Newspaper.
According to the United States
census of 1870, of the total steam and
water power employed 4S. Is per cent.
was water. In 1880 the percentage OF
water power had decreased to $3.50 per
cent. From this it will be seen that
water power is fast falling behind in
the race.-Boston budget.
"A striking experiment in the COM
bination of colors was performed 3
short time since by Prof. Vegel at a
meeting of the Physical Society OF
Berlin. He wished to demonstrate the
incorrectness of the popular notion
that yellow and blue, when mixed, al
ways make green He took two phials.
one containing acid yellow, and the
other aniline blue. He mingled their
contents together, and the result was a
mixture not green in color. but of a
fiery red hue.-N Y. Ledger.
In recent paper on the coinci-
dence of certain solar phenomena with
the perturbations of terrestrial magne-
tism, M. L. Marchand shows, from a
comparative study of the solar observa-
tions made at the Lyons Observatory,
in 1885, with the curves of the Mas
cart magnetic recorder, that there ex-
lists direct relation between the ter
restrial magnetic disturbances and the
displacement of certain solar elements
accompanying the spots and the facule.
There is now little doubt that 1887
will be the biggest building year that
this country has ever known in rail-
roads, factories and other houses. 1t is
now estimated that 81 200 miles of new
and $4,000 miles of old railway track
will be laid this year-thus affording
the iron furnaces and steel rolling and
rail mills an abundance of work. The
cost of these railroads is estimated at
1888. 900. 900 for the new and 800. 000,-
600 for the old roads-or say $3.50, 000,-
600 of capital needed for the railroads
alone.-Pablic Opinion.
M. Ligner, an Austrian meteorelo-
gist, claims to have ascertained after
careful investigation that the moon has
an influence on a magnetized needle
varying with its phases and its declina-
ton. The phenomenon is said to be
more prominently noticeable when the
moon is near the earth. and to be very
marked when she is passing from the
full to her first or second quarter. The
disturbances are found to be at their
maximum when the moon is in the plane
of the equator, and greater during the
southern than it is during the northern
Chicago Times.